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I don't post on here a lot, but I wanted to let my local Floridians know about this before I posted in on the main selling board.

Apparently, my parents found a large box of Transformers in a storage container. From the pictures they sent, which I will load later, it looks like a mixture of G1, G2, Action Masters, and probably Beast Wars.

If anyone is interested, please let me know. I will rummage through the box and post more pictures later.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

Mark your calendars for the 1st TAMPA BAY TOY EXPO of 2016 on Saturday, January 30, 2016! We had a great turnout for our 1st Tampa Bay Toy Expo, and as a result, we are expanding into a BIGGER space and inviting more vendors to participate. If you enjoy fun, prizes, and tables filled with Action Figures, Vintage Toys, Video Games, Mini Figures, Comic Books, and Pop Culture, don’t miss this amazing event!

Fellow Floridians, I would like to give a big shout out to a particular comic shop called Big Redhead Comics. I just got back from taking a visit to this place and it is quite an amazing little establishment. No mere comic book store, this place offers a wide variety of vintage action figure product, predominantly G1 Transformers, Tonka GoBots, and Star Wars figures/vehicles.

The owner is a cool guy who's very knowledgeable of all his merchandise, though he's not that big into things like Beast Wars, the live action movies, or the current RID series. However, his store does carry a small selection of Beast Wars toys and a reasonable amount of Generations, Masterpieces, convention exclusives, third-party TFs, KO TFs, and even a small amount of Japanese figures. There's even a vintage G1 OVERLORD! Even some authentic Diaclone figures have been sold here!

Most of the TF figures are all loose, but the more recent releases and a fair number of vintage TFs are still mint in package. There's even a few Universe 2003 figures still in-package.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

Sabrblade wrote:Fellow Floridians, I would like to give a big shout out to a particular comic shop called Big Redhead Comics. I just got back from taking a visit to this place and it is quite an amazing little establishment. No mere comic book store, this place offers a wide variety of vintage action figure product, predominantly G1 Transformers, Tonka GoBots, and Star Wars figures/vehicles.

The owner is a cool guy who's very knowledgeable of all his merchandise, though he's not that big into things like Beast Wars, the live action movies, or the current RID series. However, his store does carry a small selection of Beast Wars toys and a reasonable amount of Generations, Masterpieces, convention exclusives, third-party TFs, KO TFs, and even a small amount of Japanese figures. There's even a vintage G1 OVERLORD! Even some authentic Diaclone figures have been sold here!

Most of the TF figures are all loose, but the more recent releases and a fair number of vintage TFs are still mint in package. There's even a few Universe 2003 figures still in-package.

Bumblebee21 wrote:what is Tampa Bay Toy Expo like. thinking about going since it is on my birthday.

I went their first year, 2014, and it was a pretty small event, but such was appropriate for its first year as it was only starting out. For the first year, it was held in a single room at a nice hotel. The room had about three or four vendors total, with another vendor stationed in the hall right outside the room's entrance (that vendor was selling some really nice Gundam model kits). One of the vendors had set up a massive display of some super rare Transformers figures from all across the brand's 30-year existence, and said display spanned the entire width and height of one of the room's walls. Though, none of those rare items were for sale, as they were for display purposes only (but it was an awesome sight to behold). There weren't any guests or panels or anything like that. Just vendors selling toys/games/etc., both vintage and contemporary. Of all the toylines that were for sale, Transformers had arguably the biggest presence that year.

Looking over the expo's website, it seems the venue has grown significantly bigger since then, as it is now in a different location and has guests, exclusives, hourly prize drawings, VIP tickets, and more.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

Don't know if anyone can fix this but I just tried twice to add a sighting for TR Broadside at the Cape Coral Target on Pine Island and for some reason it instead listed as being Dollar General in Gulf Breeze. So something messed up and will keep messing up if I continue to post sightings for that particular location. But for those wondering, there are about three there as well as in the Walmart down the street from that Target as well as the Walmart around the corner. Not much else in any of those stores though. Or rather, not much worth noting since what little was there has been out for months now.

Don't know if anyone can fix this but I just tried twice to add a sighting for TR Broadside at the Cape Coral Target on Pine Island and for some reason it instead listed as being Dollar General in Gulf Breeze. So something messed up and will keep messing up if I continue to post sightings for that particular location. But for those wondering, there are about three there as well as in the Walmart down the street from that Target as well as the Walmart around the corner. Not much else in any of those stores though. Or rather, not much worth noting since what little was there has been out for months now.

Fellow Floridian Transformers fans, I request a moment of your time to walk with me down memory lane for a bit.

Located in the Marketplace area of Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) is a large four-room toy store named Once Upon a Toy. For over a decade, going as far back as at least the Beast Era (at the very least, Beast Machines), this store contained a multitude of Hasbro-owned products for sale within the store's largest room, Transformers among them.

The Transformers section was usually a sight to behold for any young TF fan looking to get something new for his/her Transformers collection (albeit, at Disney's slightly-higher-than-retail prices, but I digress), and was the one mass retail store, to my knowledge, that carried Transformers exclusives belonging to Walmart, Target, Toys'R'Us, KB Toys, Kmart, etc. all in one location.

I myself hav rather fond memories of perusing through and purchasing from Once Upon a Toy's Transformers section, recalling rather vividly memories of seeing items from all of the following toylines in the section over the years:

Beast Machines

Robots in Disguise (2001)

Armada, Heroes of Cybertron, and Commemorative Series

Energon and Universe (2003)

Cybertron

Movie 1

Animated and Universe (2008)

Revenge of the Fallen

After this point, me and my family stopped going to the park (and thus, the store) as often as we used to. I do, however, recall visiting the store again at a point when they were selling Age of Extinction toys, but alas, just like all of the normal retail stores, Once Upon a Toy was likewise swamped with virtually nothing but the simplistic, gimmicky AOE toys (i.e. - Power Battlers, 1-Step Changers, etc.) instead of the normal figures.

But to finally get to the point of all my reminiscing about the history of Once Upon a Toy's TF section, I must report some sad news.

Awhile back, this year, I made a trek over to Disney Springs, my first visit in a few years, and saw just how much the whole place had changed since. Entire new areas and attractions had since been constructed, with several renovations having also been made to preexisting attractions (i.e. - the Lego Imagination Center was given a near-complete overhaul in its design). Once Upon a Toy was also one of these renovated attractions, but the store hadn't changed too much in its construction (only one of its four rooms had been turned into a completely different, separate store, while the other three rooms remained intact). Sadly, though, the main room had undergone a different kind of change.

As I mentioned before, this room had historically served as a retail haven for all kinds of Hasbro -made products. Unfortunately, that history is now all in the the past. Gone from this room was not only the Transformers toy section, but EVERYTHING! Save for one solitary remaining toyline: Star Wars. The entirety of the store's main room had become completely overtaken by and devoted to the Star Wars toyline. Wall to wall, shelf by shelf, lines with nothing but Star Wars toys and memorabilia. All despite the fact that Disney Springs also has a completely separate Star Wars store located in its West Side.

For those wondering, since the main room of the store is now nothing but Star Wars, what's in the other two rooms? Well, the first room features, and always has featured, younger-age mainstream Disney character products like plush toys stuff one would typically find at a mall Disney Store. The second room, which is the smallest, now features Marvel stuff.

But in the long run, the store that was once known for its great selection of Transformers toys is no longer in that ballpark. Rest in Peace, Once Upon a Toy's Transformers section. You had a fantastic run, but left us too soon.

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

Motto:"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly; the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest ... is silence."

Weapon: Twin Shock-Concussion Missiles

Alpha Weltall wrote:Don't know if anyone can fix this but I just tried twice to add a sighting for TR Broadside at the Cape Coral Target on Pine Island and for some reason it instead listed as being Dollar General in Gulf Breeze. So something messed up and will keep messing up if I continue to post sightings for that particular location. But for those wondering, there are about three there as well as in the Walmart down the street from that Target as well as the Walmart around the corner. Not much else in any of those stores though. Or rather, not much worth noting since what little was there has been out for months now.

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